China successfully launched the latest planned satellite number 55 of its Beidou navigation and positioning network into Earth orbit on Tuesday, June 23.
The launch achieves global coverage capable of competing with the US-owned GPS system, according to a statement from the official Beidou government website.
The satellite took off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, powered by a Long March carrier rocket, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
The Beidou project began development in 1994, with its first satellites launched in 2000. The first generation covered only China, and the second generation expanded throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The deployment of the current third generation of satellites, Beidou-3, began in 2015 to gain global coverage. The last satellite in orbit is number 30 for Beidou-3 and it will reach 55 for all three generations.
The launch was originally scheduled for June 16, but was unexpectedly canceled due to technical problems.
Source: dpa
